NYC Game Dev Digest – October 2025

Game-A-Palooza is this Saturday, October 18th!!
Play over 50 NYC-made games and meet the devs behind them.
Plenty of releases, local events, and more to check out in this issue!!!

In this issue:

What's on | Highlights of upcoming events.

Chapter Events Meetups, talks, and other events we're hosting.

#NYMakesGames News | Game launches and other updates from local creators.

Around Town | A community calendar of events from across the city.

What's On This Month

On The Horizon

• The Boston Festival of Indie Games is a celebration of independent games, the people who make them, and the fans who enjoy them. The Festival showcases digital and tabletop games, selected from hundreds of submissions from independent game developers. Happening Sunday, December 7th, 10am-5pm ET

• Festival of Games! A Holiday Gaming & Shopping Event For the Whole Family! Happening December 13th-14th at the Cradle of Aviation in NY. CLICK HERE to be a vendor!

Experience the biggest celebration of NYC's indie game developers at Game-A-Palooza - Fall 2025 on Saturday, October 18th at Hana House in Brooklyn! This one-day festival features 50+ local developers showcasing new and unreleased games.

Whether you want to be the first to play new games, showcase your own creation, or get exclusive VIP access, Game-A-Palooza is your front-row seat to NYC's indie game developer community!

Sign up or learn more below:

Level Up Tuesdays with Coexist!

*RSVP required to waive $20 entry fee*
Coexist Gamehouse

Tue, Oct. 21st @ 6:00pm

This Month's Speaker is Elaine Gomez

Elaine Gómez is a Borikua (Puerto Rican) and Kiskeyan (Dominican) game designer with nearly a decade of experience in game design and development. Her talk will focus on the initiatives, collaboration and advocacy work Latinx in Gaming has launched to best support and uplift Latine developers and creatives, regardless of where they are in the world.

Echograph by Sach and The Coldest Winter by Vibe XP will be part of our featured showcase!

RSVP required for free entry!

Interested in participating?

Share your NY game news here or Bluesky #NYMakesGames.
Section Editor: Mattia Sicuro

Making Waves

• Couldn't make it to, "The State of NYC: Developing a Better Games Community?" watch the stream HERE!

• Check out the announcement trailer for Zeitgeist Studio's new daylight horror adventure, NAME OF THE WILL!

• Amir Satvat's Community and Informa are giving away 500 all-access GDC passes to students and unemployed game devs!

• Full lineup of talks from Crossword Con 2025 are now up on YouTube!

• Submissions are now open for the Winter 2025 Wondercab residency at Wonderville, running from December 1st - March 1st!

• GLAAD Gaming has announced their new Queer Emerging Developers program, offering a cohort of LGBTQ game developers the opportunity to accelerate their careers via dedicated mentorship from members of the GLAAD Gaming team. as well as celebrated leaders from across the game development space.

Crowdfund

• Danse Macabre - A Medieval Horror Role-playing game where you take on the role of Pilgrims doomed to survive in a sundered world filled with historical intrigue, brutal combat, and ravening hordes of transformed humans.

• ENCLAVE: Aspirant - The Diceless TTRPG with Infinite Depth has your decisions determine your fate rather than luck.

Demos

• Skate Story - Ollie, kickflip, and grind your way through the ash and smoke of The Emptylands as you take on a seemingly impossible quest. Skate fast to destroy vicious demons, help a forgetful frog, and save other tortured souls on your journey from fragile beginner to a hardened skater.

Launched

• Skadi Tower by Redfinch Games - A mobile 3D puzzle game about clearing towers of ice.

• Consume Me by Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken "coda" Snyder - A life-simulation RPG with a darkly funny coming-of-age story

• Skate & Date by Gensuta - A roller derby rhythm ga(y)me where you play as Maggie, the lead jammer of the Rockin Rollergirls!

• Bot or Not by Rabble - To stop a (deceptively cute) robot takeover, your group needs to enter a shutdown code. But one of your teammates is secretly a robot trying to sabotage you!

• Baby Steps by Gabe Cuzzillo, Maxi Boch, Bennett Foddy - Features fully-simulated, physics based walking on a lengthy trek up a mountain-sized mountain, that you can explore at your own pace. Or slower.

Pre-Order/Wishlist

• AiliA by Icetoad Studio - A tricky puzzle game where reflections are made real. Manipulate mirrors and guide Ail through a world where reflections intersect reality.

• Nova: First Spark by JeminiW - Play as a young star-like creature exploring the bright and barren expanses of space.

• Echograph by Pappy's Pipe Dream - Photograph ghosts, crack environmental puzzles, manage limited resources, and unravel the mystery behind a generational family curse in this classic survival horror experience.

• Possessor(s) by Heart Machine - A fast-paced action side scroller with combat inspired by platform fighters, a story told through dangerous characters, set in a deep interconnected world ready for exploration.

Ongoing Initiatives

• Applications to join GUMBO are open! GUMBO is a non-profit collective of indie game creators located in Dumbo, Brooklyn formed to inspire and motivate each other, stay current in the indie game makers community, and expand an already amazing skill-sharing network.

• In support of Wonderville, consider becoming a member on WithFriends to help to keep the arcades working and pay for parts and maintenance!

• ANNY Exchange is a Talent Connect Initiative for Animation Nights New York. Want to participate and be added to the database of Animation Talent from all around the world? More info here

• Animation Nights New York (ANNY) is always accepting submissions for Animated Short Films, AR Animation Experiences, VR animation Experiences, and Interactive Media (including Video Games). More info here

• Coexist Gaming is a subscription-based gaming lifestyle company that provides an inclusive ecosystem for community, culture, connection and opportunity. Including a gaming lounge, optimized networking experiences and accessible resources for Devs, find out more and become a member here!

• Support the Game Devs of Color Expo's mission to uplift marginalized voices in game development by signing up for their monthly Ko-fi subscription! Your support ensures ongoing grants, events, and community programs.

• Support GUMBO on Patreon for exclusive digital content, free event access, and more!

• The New York State Digital Game Development Program is designed to accelerate and attract economic development by offsetting some production costs associated with producing digital games in New York State.

• Urban Arts teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career by offering after-school programs, career prep, school partnerships and more. Learn about their various programs for students and teachers here!

• The City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment "Made in NY" Logo Program provides qualified digital gaming companies with the ability to use the City's "Made in NY" logo in their game's packaging, title screen and/or game website.

Unless otherwise noted, events are (probably!) free to attend. Follow @GameDevNYC for event alerts. Contact [email protected] to add your org's events.

Wednesday, October 15th

VR Demo Night and Fireside chat with Jake Steinerman from Meta - Listen to a fireside chat with Jake Steinerman, meta developer advocate, and Trishna Sharma, product manager for Meta's XR Simulator. And try out cutting-edge Quest titles created by local community developers in a hands-on, arcade-style showcase.

Thursday, October 16th

The Art of Movie Making Film Festival Meetup at Industrious - The NYC Annual Awards is the final stop in the 2025 tour, with speakers, special film events, and most importantly - the awards show. FREE food will be provided and the opportunity to network with industry professionals.

NYC Handmade Meetup - Co-working and demoing. Most people just come and watch, so no need to demo anything! Demos are usually around 15 mins.

Friday, October 17th

New York Houdini User Group - In this talk, Rafael Drelich will present workflows spanning from motion capture to AI-powered image and video generation.

Saturday, October 18th

Game-A-Palooza Fall 2025 - Game-A-Palooza is your chance to play and experience over 50 brand-new and in-development games from local NYC-metro creators!

Wonderville Arcade Swap Meet - Buy, Sell, Trade and Donate your video and board games, parts, computers, tools, screens, and more!

[rect*]] repair x boshi's place: Shanghai <-> New York game portal - an international crossover event featuring a curation of chinese games in NY, with a portal to interact with the attendees in shanghai, and a fax machine(?!!)

Wednesday, October 22nd

Unreal NYC October Event Sponsored by Epic Games - RSVP Required! Dive into the latest features of Unreal Engine with technical sessions, live demos, and discussions with community experts.

Thursday, October 23rd

NYU Game Center Lecture Series Presents Dimma Davidoff - Join NYU Game Center for a conversation with Dimma Davidoff, creator of the Mafia game.

GUMBO Board Game / Tabletop Playtest Night - Come meet some board game designers, play some unreleased games, and make new friends.

XR Motion Meetup! - Gather around enthusiasts, professionals, and experts in all things XR!

Brooklyn Experimental Electronic Music Group - Join the local electronic music community for our showcase featuring an eclectic mix of New York City artists working in a variety of styles.

Friday, October 24th

GameMaker Game Jam 2025 @ Gumbo! - GameMaker, Gumbo NYC, and Shattered Journal Games are teaming up to host another game jam at Gumbo.

Saturday, October 25th

Open Tables: A playtesting space for tabletop game designers - Come and play games during the fall (costumes not required)!

Tuesday, October 28th

Wonderville's Last Tuesday of the month PLAYTEST - Come to Wonderville to playtest in production games! If you're a developer, bring your game! No signups required.

Tuesday, November 4th

Play Scrapeboard - Scrapeboard winter starts November 4th with free play all night and a beginner-friendly tournament. Challenge the newest bosses, Simon and Metal. Plus mini Scrapeboard with custom tech decks!

Saturday, November 8th

Monthly 2 Hr GameJam Club: Môsi - This month they're using Môsi to make adventure games in under 2 hours. Bring a computer and come out! Good for beginners and experts.

Wednesday, November 12th

NYVR - A community meetup with people interested in the development and application of virtual reality technology.

Friday, November 14th

NYU's Game Design Week Launch Party - NYU Game Center Week launch party kicks off with chiptune musicians Ah Dek, Double XP Weekend, Business Pastel, Chillbrave, and Rockman, with visual art projections all night by artists Slime Bubble, datacats, Claire Kwong, and emdashi.

Wednesday, November 19th

3DNY: Sponsored by EPIC GAMES @ Lucky Jacks! - 3DNY is a Networking community for the Architectural Visualization & Visual Effects industries, with speakers and time to chat, enjoy & have a drink with old & new friends in the industry.

Thursday, November 20th

Gaming Business Models: Why Everything Feels Like a Live Service Now - Gaming Pathways @ CCNY Presents Guest Speaker Demetri Detsaridis

Saturday, November 22nd

GameMaker x Wonderville Meetup - Game Maker, Wonderville, and Shattered Journal Games have teamed up to host a meetup in NYC.

Tuesday, November 25th

Wonderville's Last Tuesday of the month PLAYTEST - Come to Wonderville to playtest in production games! If you're a developer, bring your game! No signups required.